Leventis Reaps Benefits of Strategising
By Uche Obike
There are indications that A.G. Leventis Nigeria Plc is making progress from its recent restructuring strategies aimed a repositioning the company for greater profitability.
This was visibly demonstrated in the company's performance during its financial year ended December 31, 2003.
The group turnover improved by 27 per cent from N4.4 billion in 2002 to N5. 6 billion, while profit before tax rose by 130 per cent from N132.7 million to N365.7 million. The company also recorded profit after taxation and minority interests that stood at N131.5 million as against N71 5 million, in the previous year.
"This, together with revenue reserve of N308.1 million brings our undistributed profits to N439.6 million as against N374.5 million the previous year," explained the Chairman, Ambassador, Hamzat Ahmadu.
The Chairman attributed improvement in the company's performance over the previous year to the manifestation of positive results of re-organisation and re-engineering of the various aspects of its business embarked upon in the last few years.
Apparently, due to the company's improved financial results, it declared N138.385 million as dividend compared with N66.4 million declared last year. Based on the enlarged paid-up share capital after the fully subscribed rights issue of for one which has now been concluded, this translates to a dividend of seven kobo per share to all shareholders on the company's register as at May 7, 2004.
The company has also offered its shareholders a new opportunity to convert the dividends payable to them into additional shares in the company if they so desired.
The Chairman said that the new gesture was aimed at increasing the working capital profile of the company and thus enhance its future profitability.
Also, the recent Offer by way of Rights Issue of additional 948,253,054 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at an offer price of 54 kobo per share and in the ratio of one new share for every one share held by them at the close of business on June 24, 2003 was reported have been fully subscribed.
The market capitalisation of the company which was only N6 16.4 million before the rights issue has risen to over N4 billion as at April 15, 2004.
The Chairman said this demonstrates investors' confidence in the Company's future.
The Chairman expressed confidence that the company is moving in the right direction since all the major performance indices point to some reasonable improvement in their group results during the current financial year.
He, however, said "the current upsurge in violent crimes in the country is a thing to worry about. The delay in the approval and implementation of the Federal Government budget for the current year has also not helped the promotion of business activities.
Nonetheless, as we have always been optimistic about the economic stability of the country, we continue to hope that the business environment will become more conducive for the in-flow of investments, which would raise consumers' purchasing power and grow the capacity utilisation of its industries."
As at December 31, 2003, the group had a total of 1,245 employees made up of 205 in the management and 1,040 in the non-management cadres. Included in the management cadre were 21 expatriates.
The group has continued to maintain its subsidiaries which included
Leventis Motors, Real Estate, Leventis Power System Limited (LPS), Leventis Foods Limited, Victoria Beach Hotel Limited (Mainland Hotel), Abuja (Capital) Motors Limited, and other subsidiaries with the cessation of trading activities by Levtrade Limited and Ideal Infosystems Limited in the 3rd quarter of 2002, Leventis resolved to monitor on a continuous basis, the operations of every unit, assess its contributions to the group's operations, maintaining the objectivity required to determine its future.
|
